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Handout 1
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?

 Philosophy – is deduced from the Greek words “philia” meaning love and
“sophia” meaning wisdom. Hence, philosophy is etymologically defined as “love
of wisdom”. It was coined by Pythagoras around 584 B.C. in Ancient Greece.

 Philosophy – is the science of beings in their ultimate reasons, causes and

principles acquired by the aid of human reason alone.

DISSECTING THE DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY

Let us examine the essential parts or the key terms in the definition:

1. Why is it called the science of beings?

Being is synonymous to existence. Basically, in a deeper sense it refers to substance or

essence of an existing reality. Hence, the term Being can refer to anything that exist.
Hence, the field of philosophy deals or covers everything, whether it is spiritual, mental
or material beings.

Three Beings:
(1) Spiritual beings are beings that are immaterial and can only be known spiritually
(examples: God, Angels and Soul);
(2) Mental beings are beings of the mind (examples: ideas and concepts such as
numbers, justice, beauty);
(3) Material beings are beings that can be experienced or known in the sensible world
(examples: physical objects such as chair, tables and material bodies)

Philosophy inquires, studies, investigates every beings, everything that exist or anything
that signifies existence.

2. What kind of science Philosophy is?

Philosophy is a Universal Science. That makes philosophy distinct or in contrast from
other departmental sciences such as chemistry, physics, even management.

Difference between Universal Science and Departmental Science:

 Universal Science is unlimited in its scope of study. It is boundless and

unrestricted in its search for answers to questions about the world and realities
beyond the world.
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 Departmental Science is limited. It is only limited or bounded to its area of study.

Can only answer question within its area of specialization.

For example, chemistry only investigates composition, properties, changes in material

substances and many other concerning matter. In other words, it is only limited to the
study of matter. Non-material things, such as God, democracy, virtue, soul and other
immaterial things or beings are not its scope of study for the reason that it cannot be
subjected to empirical or scientific experimentations.

But can philosophy investigate or answer questions about chemistry? Yes. Philosophy
will simply investigate or answer why is there an atom? Why is there a matter?
Philosophy can investigate everything.

3. In their ultimate reasons, causes and principles?

Philosophy seeks the ultimate answers, the ultimate causes and the ultimate principles of
a specific thing, that is why the fundamental question in philosophy is Why?. This
question seeks for the ultimate answer to a given question.

This also makes philosophy distinct from other departmental science because philosophy
will go deeper and beyond the scope of departmental science.

For example, both philosophy and the departmental sciences will provide different
explanation to a common question what is man. However, philosophy will go deeper and
beyond, it will ask the fundamental question why, why is man rational, why does it exist.
These questions cannot be answered by departmental sciences since it is beyond of their
scope.

The explanations and answers in Philosophy are founded on ultimate reasons, causes and
principles.

(1) Reason – refers to the terminal purpose of a thing. (Example: What is the reason of
Man’s Existence);
(2) Causes – a cause may be defined as any thing or being (spiritual, mental, material)
that which brings about a result or effect. (Example: What is the cause of all existence?);
(3) Principle – is a fundamental and essential truth upon which other truths are based.
(Example: What was thrown up, must come down = The principle of Gravity.)

4. Acquired by the aid of human reason alone

The main tool of philosophy in its search of meaning or truth is human reason.
Nonetheless, this does not mean that philosophy cannot or doesn’t use scientific
experimentation, philosophy just take human reason as more superior tool in its search
for meaning.
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METHOD OF PHILOSOPHY

The method of philosophy is rational inquiry or some authors would call it as

philosophical method. In this method it involves, sensing a problem; assembling data,
organizing and evaluating the data, proposing an explanation or hypothesis, testing the
hypothesis, discovering truths and applying principles to specific cases.

BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

 Logic – is the science and art of correct thinking and reasoning.

 Epistemology – is the study of human knowledge. How do I know?
 Ethics – is the study of the nature and morality of human acts. Is my act moral?
 Metaphysics – is the science of the ultimate principles and properties of real
beings. What's out there? What am I? What is it?
 Aesthetics – the study of beauty, its nature and appreciation. What is beauty?

Specialized branches

 Philosophy of  Philosophy of Organization and

Language Management
 Philosophy of Law  Philosophy of Economics
 Philosophy of Mind  Social and Political Philosophy
 Philosophy of  Theodicy
Religion  Oriental Philosophy
 Philosophy of Science
and Technology

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

The Ancient Period

Pre-Socratics: Thales of Miletos (c. 624 - 546 B.C.); Anaximander (c. 610 - 546 B.C.);

Anaximenes (c. 585 - 525 B.C.); Pythagoras (c. 570 - 490 B.C.); Heraclitus (c. 535 -
475 B.C.); Parmenides of Elea (c. 515 - 450 B.C.) *The Major Concerns are all about the
origin and nature of the world.

Socratics: Socrates (464 - 399 B.C.); Plato (c. 428 - 348 B.C.) Greek; Aristotle (384 -

322 B.C.) Greek  *The Major concerns are all about the nature of man.

The Medieval Period

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Prominent Philosophers: St. Anselm (1033 – 1109); St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 –
1274); St. Augustine *the period was greatly concerned with proving the existence of
God and reconciling Christianity with classical philosophy. 

The Modern Period

Prominent Philosophers: Hobbes, Thomas (1588 - 1679); Descartes, René (1596 -

1650); Locke, John; David Hume (1711 – 1776); Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) *The
Age of Reason saw a continuation of the move away from theology and faith-based
arguments, and marks the shaking off of medieval approaches in preference for
more unified philosophical systems like Rationalism and British Empiricism. The
advances in science, the growth of religious tolerance and the rise of philosophical
liberalism also led to a revival in Political Philosophy in general.

Contemporary Period - Postmodern Period

Prominent Philosophers: John Dewey, Karl Marx, Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich

Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Simone
de Beauvoir, Jean Baudrillard, Richard Rorty, Michel Foucault, Fredric Jameson. *
Sometimes regarded as synonym with cultural relativism, post-modernism is an
intellectual movement aiming at departing from the modernist reaction to the traditional
Western canons in literature, visual art, music, architecture, religion, and social
organization.

THE PURPOSE OF PHILOSOPHY

But why is there philosophy? What can we get from philosophizing? We can get many
things from philosophy. They are as follows:

 Philosophy enables us to understand ourselves better;

 Philosophy helps us understand others, our fellowmen;
 Philosophy helps us understands other’s way of thinking;
 Philosophy helps us understand the world and our place and role in it;
 Philosophy helps us understand the significance, meaning, value, and finality of
human life;
 Philosophy helps us know and understand God in his nature, essence, activities
and attributes.

Sources: De Leon, Jose Ramon E. & Guab, Martin Harry A. A Philosophy of the Human Person

Mastin, Luke. The Basics of Philosophy.

<http://www.philosophybasics.com/historical_presocratic.html>
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Nabor-Nery, Maria Imelda. Philosophy of Man.

Mandaluyong City: National Bookstore, 2009